Linzer Hearts makes 24 cookies (12 3-inch sandwich cookies and 12 2-inch hearts) Sophisticated and divine, these cookies are a real treat, whether it’s Valentine’s Day or you just feel like saying “I love you.” And, they’re made without the traditional allergenic addition of hazelnuts or almonds; what could be better? 21/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons Basic Gluten-
1/4
Free Flour Mix (page 19)
cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/2
teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
11/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4
teaspoon baking soda
1/2
1/4
teaspoon salt
11/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed
1/2
teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4
cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable
3 tablespoons rice milk
shortening
1/2
cup granulated sugar
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
3/4
teaspoon lemon zest with 2 tablespoons rice milk cup raspberry jam
1. Whisk together the flour mix, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed, beating until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and egg replacer. Mix for about 20 seconds. 3. Add the flour mixture to the bowl in three batches, mixing on low, alternating with the rice milk, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the dough comes together. 4. Divide the dough into two balls. Form into disks, wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap,
and refrigerate for 2 hours. 5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 6. Sprinkle flour mix on your work surface and your rolling pin. Remove one disk of dough
from the fridge. Sprinkle a little of the flour mix onto both sides of the dough. Use the palm of your hand to flatten the disk, then roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. (It will be a little stiff at first but will soften up fast. Pinch the edges together with your fingers the first go-around, if necessary.) 7. Cut into 12 heart shapes using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Cut out the center from
half the shapes with a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the shapes to the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Repeat with the remaining dough and scraps until you have 12 whole hearts, 12 hearts with the centers cut out, and about 12 bite-size hearts. Put the baking sheets in the fridge to chill the cookies again.
continued Cookies
73
Linzer Hearts, continued 8. Preheat the oven to 325°F. 9. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, or until just slightly golden, rotating the
pan halfway through. Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. 10. Once the cookies have cooled, spread the large whole hearts with the raspberry jam. Sift
the confectioners’ sugar over the hearts with the centers cut out and the small bite-size hearts. Top the large whole hearts with an open heart.
74
The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook
Canola Oil
I generally use canola oil in my recipes because it’s easy to find, healthful, and mild. See Resources, page 177, for brands that are manufactured in a peanut-free, tree nut–free facility. Alternatively, you can use rice bran oil, another light, healthful oil (again, check Resources, page 177, for “safe” brands). If you choose to use another type of vegetable oil, pick one that you know is safe for you and that has a mild flavor. I like safflower oil and sunflower oil, or you may choose to bake with extra-light olive oil.
1/3
cup canola oil = 1/2 cup butter
Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Vegetable Shortening
Organic, nonhydrogenated, cholesterol-free, this shortening bakes up nice and light. See Resources, page 177, for brands that are manufactured in a peanut-free, tree nut–free facility. If the shortening is too solid to measure out easily, warm it in the microwave for about 15 seconds to soften it slightly. If it is too soft and soupy because it’s a very warm day, chill the shortening in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or until firmer. Also, be sure to pack and pack again when measuring, because it has a tendency to create air pockets. Really push it down into the measuring cup to make sure you’re getting an exact measure.
1 cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening = 1 cup unsalted butter
Replacing Nuts and Nut Butters The past few years have seen the advent of SunButter. SunButter (aka sunflower seed butter) is a great replacement for peanut butter and other nut butters. It is available at Trader Joe’s, Whole 18
Foods, and many local health food stores. It’s also popping up on some supermarket shelves. There is a small chance that containers of SunButter could be cross-contaminated with soy, which is also processed at that facility. To be extra careful, you can make your own sunflower seed butter using peanut-free sunflower seeds that you know to be safe. You can now buy “safe” sunflower seeds for snacking, or to use in baking, though you may have to order these online. See Resources, page 177, for peanut-free, tree nut–free brands.
Replacing Wheat Flour and Other Gluten Flours This is perhaps the trickiest part of baking allergenfree. It’s not so hard to bake gluten-free if you can still use eggs, butter, and nut flours, but figuring out how to bake without any of them has been a learning curve for me. But I persevered and am happy to report that I’ve come out triumphant. Baking allergen-free and gluten-free is not only possible, but it’s also downright delicious!
Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix makes 6 cups The key to the very best gluten-free baked goods is Authentic Foods superfine brown rice flour; it is the Cadillac, or cashmere, of brown rice flours and is worth its weight in gold. It is not grainy like other rice flours, and bakes the most fantastic cookies, cakes, pie crusts, and so on. If you can’t find it at your local natural foods market or Whole Foods, order it online. Both Ener-G and Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flours will also work in these recipes, but they won’t turn out quite as well. I do not recommend Arrowhead Mills brown rice flour, which I find too gritty. The brands of potato starch and tapioca flour or starch are not important; I find them all interchangeable. (Please see Resources, page 177, for more information.) 4 cups superfine brown rice flour 11/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour) 2/3
cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)
1. To measure flour, use a large spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level it
off with the back of a knife or straightedge. Do not use the measuring cup itself to scoop your flour when measuring! It will compact the flour and you will wind up with too much for the recipe. 2. Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended. Store
in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Gluten-Free, Allergen-Free Flours
Here’s what you have to choose from: rice, corn, potato, tapioca, bean, garfava, sorghum, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, arrowroot, amaranth, teff, montina, and flax flours. Whoa, that’s a lot of flours! And trickier still, most of them can’t be used on their own—they must be mixed like you’re doing AP chemistry. They can’t be swapped out cup for cup for wheat flour, and they require varying amounts of xanthan gum from recipe to recipe. So to make things simple for you, I’ve created a Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix that you can whip up and store in your fridge.
The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook
How to Bake Allergen-Free
19
Canola Oil
I generally use canola oil in my recipes because it’s easy to find, healthful, and mild. See Resources, page 177, for brands that are manufactured in a peanut-free, tree nut–free facility. Alternatively, you can use rice bran oil, another light, healthful oil (again, check Resources, page 177, for “safe” brands). If you choose to use another type of vegetable oil, pick one that you know is safe for you and that has a mild flavor. I like safflower oil and sunflower oil, or you may choose to bake with extra-light olive oil.
1/3
cup canola oil = 1/2 cup butter
Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Vegetable Shortening
Organic, nonhydrogenated, cholesterol-free, this shortening bakes up nice and light. See Resources, page 177, for brands that are manufactured in a peanut-free, tree nut–free facility. If the shortening is too solid to measure out easily, warm it in the microwave for about 15 seconds to soften it slightly. If it is too soft and soupy because it’s a very warm day, chill the shortening in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or until firmer. Also, be sure to pack and pack again when measuring, because it has a tendency to create air pockets. Really push it down into the measuring cup to make sure you’re getting an exact measure.
1 cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening = 1 cup unsalted butter
Replacing Nuts and Nut Butters The past few years have seen the advent of SunButter. SunButter (aka sunflower seed butter) is a great replacement for peanut butter and other nut butters. It is available at Trader Joe’s, Whole 18
Foods, and many local health food stores. It’s also popping up on some supermarket shelves. There is a small chance that containers of SunButter could be cross-contaminated with soy, which is also processed at that facility. To be extra careful, you can make your own sunflower seed butter using peanut-free sunflower seeds that you know to be safe. You can now buy “safe” sunflower seeds for snacking, or to use in baking, though you may have to order these online. See Resources, page 177, for peanut-free, tree nut–free brands.
Replacing Wheat Flour and Other Gluten Flours This is perhaps the trickiest part of baking allergenfree. It’s not so hard to bake gluten-free if you can still use eggs, butter, and nut flours, but figuring out how to bake without any of them has been a learning curve for me. But I persevered and am happy to report that I’ve come out triumphant. Baking allergen-free and gluten-free is not only possible, but it’s also downright delicious!
Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix makes 6 cups The key to the very best gluten-free baked goods is Authentic Foods superfine brown rice flour; it is the Cadillac, or cashmere, of brown rice flours and is worth its weight in gold. It is not grainy like other rice flours, and bakes the most fantastic cookies, cakes, pie crusts, and so on. If you can’t find it at your local natural foods market or Whole Foods, order it online. Both Ener-G and Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flours will also work in these recipes, but they won’t turn out quite as well. I do not recommend Arrowhead Mills brown rice flour, which I find too gritty. The brands of potato starch and tapioca flour or starch are not important; I find them all interchangeable. (Please see Resources, page 177, for more information.) 4 cups superfine brown rice flour 11/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour) 2/3
cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)
1. To measure flour, use a large spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level it
off with the back of a knife or straightedge. Do not use the measuring cup itself to scoop your flour when measuring! It will compact the flour and you will wind up with too much for the recipe. 2. Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended. Store
in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Gluten-Free, Allergen-Free Flours
Here’s what you have to choose from: rice, corn, potato, tapioca, bean, garfava, sorghum, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, arrowroot, amaranth, teff, montina, and flax flours. Whoa, that’s a lot of flours! And trickier still, most of them can’t be used on their own—they must be mixed like you’re doing AP chemistry. They can’t be swapped out cup for cup for wheat flour, and they require varying amounts of xanthan gum from recipe to recipe. So to make things simple for you, I’ve created a Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix that you can whip up and store in your fridge.
The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook
How to Bake Allergen-Free
19
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